Stop motion for braiding or twisting machines



Sept. 12, 1933. w, c WRJGHT 1,926,963

STOP MOTION FOR BRAIDING 0R TWISTING MACHINES Filed Sept. 50, 1952 2Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORN EY Sept. 12, 1933. w. c. WRIGHT 1,925,963

STOP MOTION FOR BRAIDING' OR TWISTING MACHINES Filed Sept. 50, 1932 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 12, 1933 STOP MOTION FORBRAIDING R TWISTING MACHINES William C. Wright, Granite Falls, N. 0.,assignor to Wright Machine company Granite Falls, N. 0., a corporationof North Carolina Application September so, 1932 Serial No. 635,662

9"Claims. (01. 96-19 The present invention relates to improvements ropebraiding and twisting machines of the general class wherein the strandsor threads to form the rope converge to abraiding point or former guidewhere they are laid together to form the rope, and the object of theinvention is to pro vide a simple and eflicient stop motion or knockoffdevice which will act immediately and with certainty to stop theoperation of the machine in the event of irregular or unequal relativetension on the strands or threads, especially if a strand or thread atany side of the braiding point or former guide becomes tighter ,or moreslack than a strand or thread at the opposite side thereof,

' More particularly the invention provides a gyratory member whichcarries the former guide at the braiding point to which the strands toform the rope converge and throughwhich the strands pass to the take-offsheave of the machine, and

which is capable of swinging in any direction in response to inequalityin the tension of the strands at any side of the braiding point orguide,in conjunction with a plunger actuated by such swing of the gyratorymember'and-controlling themain 5 driving means of the machine so as tointerrupt the driving thereof and thereby stop its operation and thusavoid imperfections in the rope in course of production. I 1

To these and other ends, the invention consists in certain improvementsand combinationsand arrangements of parts all as will behereinafter morefully described, the features of novelty being pointed out particularlyin the claims at the end of this specification.

In the accompanying drawings:- Fig. 1 is an elevation,- partly insection, of a portion of a braiding machine to which the presentinvention is shownapplied; V Fig, 2 is an elevation of a portion of thestructure .40 shown in Fig. 1 as viewed from the left in that Fig. .3 isa horizontal section taken on the line 33 in Fig. 2; and 7 Fig. 4 is adetail View of the shaft forming part of the stop motion or throw-offdevice.

Similar parts are designated by the same reference characters thedifferent figures.-

Stop.motion or knock-ofi means according .to 'the present invention isapplicable generally to 59 braiding or twisting machines of the generalclass in whichthe strands to form the rope or other product are suppliedin convergent relation to a .braidingpoint or former guide. Thepreferred embodiment of theinvention is shown in the l present instanceand will be hereinafter described in detail, but it is to beunderstoodthat the invention is not restricted to the preciseconstruction shown since equivalent constructions are contemplatedandsuch will be included within the scope of the claims. 7

In the present instance, the improved stop motion orknock-off means isshown applied to a braiding machine of the construction fully shown anddescribed in Letters Patent No. 1,765,117 granted June 17, 1930, 1representing the circular guide ring of the machine which is rotatableon the central vertical stationary pedestal 2' thereof about which thesets of strand supply bobbins and fliers rotate and braid the strandstogether, as for example is shown and described in said patent, thestrands a: passing over the guide ring and converging to a braidingpoint y at which they are assembled or laid together in the well knownmanner toform the ropeor other braid X. t The rope or braid is receivedby feeding means which serves to drawthe same from the machine as it isformed, such feeding means comprising a take-off sheave 3 which may begrooved as shown and about which the rope or braid may be passed asuitable number of times so that it will be advanced thereby, thissheave being driven continuously during the operation of the machine bya shaft 4 which isdriven in timedrelation to the braiding mechanismofthe machine, as by gears 5 and 6, worm gearing 7 driving the gear 6,

and vertical shaft 8 and bevel gears 9 which'connect said shaft to themain drive shaft 10, of the machine, substantially as shown insaidpatent, the take-off sheave serving to withdraw the rope or otherbraided product atsuch a speed as to maintain the normal 7 tension.1upon the j strands 1 passing to the braiding point from thestrandsupply bobbins, it being understood that thebraiding mechanism-is alsodriven from the'main shaft 10 as in said patent. The main drive shaft 10is provided with loose and tight pulleys 11 and 12 a respectivelythereon to receive armain driving belt 13, the latterbeing shiftablefrom one of these pulleys to the other to drive the machine or topermit, the same to be idle, and the belt-is provided'witha belt shifter14' which is slidable in a guide 15 and serves to shift the beltfrom thetight pulleyto the loose pulley and thereby interrupt the operation ofthe machine. Obviously, however, a clutch or other suitable: meansmay.be employed for connecting and disconnecting the machine with respectto its source of power. The stop motion or knock-off device providedby'the present invention comprisesan arm 16 which carries a former'guideor eye 17 which is 1 said arm by a set screw 19, as shown, or in anyother suitable manner. The shaft18 is formed, at a point between itsends, with a spherical por tion 20 which is mounted to rockuniversallyor inall directions in a hemispherical seat-21 formed inabracket .22, the latter being bolted or otherwise fixed to the crossmember 23.0f the stae tionary frame of the machine which overlies thebraiding mechanism, substantially as shown in said patent, the portion20 on said shaft being retained in said seat by a nut 24 which isthreaded in the lower portion of the bracket 22 and has a complementalhemispherical seat to rockably engage the under side of the sphericalportion 20 on said shaft. The shaft'18 extends above the sphericalportion 20 thereon and into a tubular casing 25 the lower end'of whichis fixed in the bracket 22, and this casing contains a plunger '26 whichis reciprocable vertically therein. The

upper end of the shaft 18 is formed with a conical or other suitableconcavity 27 the axis of which ispreferably concentric with the centerof the shaft 18, and the lower portion of the-plunger 26 is formed witha reversely arranged or complemental concavity 28 which is conical asshown and is concentric with the center of the plunger 2'7. A ball orother spherical body 29 is interposed between the concavities of theshaft 18 and plunger 26, it being free to roll on the relativelyinclined walls or surfaces of the concavities when the shaft 18 isrocked laterally in any direction about the spherical portion 20 thereofas a center or fulcrum. The lower end of the plunger 26 is preferablyformed with a sleeve-like extension 30' to surround the upper endofthe'shaftlB and thereby prevent contact between the upper end of said shaftand the surrounding casing 25.

The upper end of the plunger 26] is reducedin diameter to form a stem31, a coiled compression spring 32 surrounds this stem and bears on theupper end of I the plunger 26 toforce the latter downwardly or towardthe shaft 18, and an adjusting nut 33 isscrew threaded into the upperend; of the casing 25 and bears on the spring 32, adjustment of this nutin the casing adjusting the power of the spring 32. The stem 31 on theplunger-is pivotally' connected to one arm of a lever 34, the latterbeing pivoted at 35 to a bracket 36 which may be fixed to the crossmember 23 of the frame of the machine, the other end of the. lever 34being operatively'connected by a rod or link 37 to arr-arm 39 of a lever40,'the' latter being mounted to rock on a relatively fixed pivot .41and having an arm 42 which engages an aperture 43 in'the belt shifter 14so that it will 'reeiprocate the latter when the lever is rocked on itspivot. A detent 44 may be-mounted to recip'rocatein guides 45 attachedto the bracket 15, this detentbeing forced toward the belt shifter M bya spring 46 so that it will ride thereon, and the belt shifter having anotch-or recess 47 therein to receive the detent 44 when the beltshifter has been operated to transfer thedriving belt 13 from the fixedpulley 12 to the loose pulley 11 thereby maintaining the machine in idlecondition after it has been stopped by the shifting of the driving beltto the loose pulley. A handle 48 may be pivoted on the bracket 15 andconnected to the detent 44 for manually releasing the latter and therebypermitting restarting of the machine. Although the shaft 18 and the arm16 fixed thereto may rock laterally in any direction about thesphericalportion -ZO pf said shaft as a center, a set screw 49 ispreferably provided inthe bracket 22 to engage a groove 50 in thespherical portion 20 so as to prevent rotation of the shaft 18 about itslongitudinal center, this set;screw' -thu's serving to hold the arm 16in proper position to clear the shaft 4. v The operation of the stopmotion or knock-off device'providedby the present invention is asfollowsz- The strands or threads at leading from the bobbins and flierscomprising the braiding mechanism of the machine pass over the guidering 1 and, during the normal operation of the machine, will be undersubstantially equal tension around this ring-so that they'will be evenlylaid together or assembled at'the braidihg point to form the rope orother braided product. The rope or braided product passes throughthe'former guide 17 which, according to the present inventionfis carriedby the arm 16. Although the rormer'guide may swing laterally in anydirection, it will V be normally maintained in central position withrespect to the braiding mechanism of the machine by the substantiallyequal-tension on the strands 'or threads .7: converging tothe braidingpoint. However, should a strand or thread at one side of the formerguide be'corhe'sla ck, due 'to breakingof the strand, exhaustion of itsbobbin, or any other cause-as forexample, is represented 'by the dottedlines at the left in- Fig.1, the" greater tension'then existing onthe'stran'd or strands at the opposite or: right hand side of the formerguide will act 'to pull the latter and the arm Ier-26"'will'-befforced'upwardly, rocking the lever 34f to force the; rodorlink 37' downwardly and the latter rocking the lever 40 from the fullline positi'on'to the dotted line position shown in Fig. l-jtherebycausingthe arm 42 of the lever 40 to act on the belt shifter 14 to-slideit in a direction to remove the driving belt 13 from the fixed ordriving pulley 12 on the main drive shaft 10 of the .machine and toplace it on the loose pulley 11, thereby automatically interrupting theopera- 'tion of the machine, and the detent44 will engage the notch orrecess 47 in :the belt shifter '14. when the latter is moved intopositionto place the driving belt on the loose pulley 11 andwill therebyhold the machine in idle condition until the machine is restored toproper 1 working condition. The arm-16 and shaft 18 will bethus swunglaterally to interrupt the drive of the machine also in the event thatundue tension is'im'posed upon a strand atany side of theformer guide,as might result from tang'ling of a strand ofstrands-or from othercauses. The ball and socket mounting for the former guide and itssupporting shaft-enables this guide to swing laterally inanydirec- Ttlon with respect to its axis in response to any unevenness orinequality in the tension of thestrands converging toward the braidingpoint,the former guide remaining in its normal central position whilethe strands or threads are under equal tension but swinging laterally tointerruptthe operation ofthe machine should any inequality in thetension of the strands at any side of the former guide develop.

I claim as my invention:--

1. In a rope braiding or twisting machine in which the rope formingstrands converge to a point, a gyratory member subject to the tension onthe convergent strands and supported for movement in different.directions in response to relative inequalities in the tension ondifferent strands, and stopping means for the machine con trolled bysaid movement of said member.

2. In a rope braiding or twisting machine in which the rope formingstrands converge to a point of assembly, a gyratory member having aformer guide cooperative with the strands adja-' cent to said point andsupported for movement in different directions in response toinequalities in the tension on the strands at different sides of saidpoint, and stopping means for the machine controlled by said movement ofsaid memher.

3. In a rope braiding or twisting machine having a guide ring rotatablewith the strands, a

member having a former guide to receive the strands from said guide ringat various angles laterally of its axis, means supporting said member toswing in anydirection laterally of the axis of said guide in response tounequal tension on the strands at differentsides of the guide, andstopping means for the machine controlled by said lateral swing of saidmember.

, 4. In a rope braiding or twisting machine, a member having a formerguide to receive the rope forming strands from various sides of itsaxis, a supporting shaft for said member alined with the axis of saidguide, means for supporting said shaft for universal lateral swingingmovement, and stopping means for the machine controlled by said lateralswing of said member.

5. In a rope braiding or twisting machine, the combination with atake-off sheave for removing the rope therefrom, of a yoke-shaped armhaving one end arrangedbelow said sheave and provided with a formerguide to receive the rope forming strands from various sides of its axisand having its other end arranged above said sheave, a supporting shaftconnected to the upper end of said arm in alinement with the axis ofsaid guide, means supporting said shaft for universal lateral swingingmovement, and stopping means for the machine controlled by said lateralswing of said arm.

6. In a rope braiding or twisting machine, a

member having a former guide to receive the rope forming strands fromvarious sides of its axis, a shaft connected to said member andextending in substantial alinement with the axis of said guide, saidshaft having a concavity in an end thereof, means supporting said shaftfor universal swinging movement laterally of its length, a plungermounted to reciprocate substantially in the direction of the length ofsaid shaft and having a concavity in its end oppositeto the concavity intheend of said shaft, a ball seated in the concavities of said shaft andplunger, and stopping means for the machine controlled by thereciprocation of said plunger.

'7. In a rope braiding or twisting machine, a member having a formerguide to receive the rope forming strands from different sides of itsaxis, a shaft fixed to said member in substantial alinement with theaxis of said guide and having a spherical portion thereon, a sphericalsocket cooperative with said spherical portion of the shaft forsupporting the latter for universal swinging movement laterally of itslength, a plunger mounted to reciprocate beyond an end of said shaft andsubstantially in the direction of the length thereof, means interposedbetween the adjacent ends of said shaft and plunger for reciprocatingthe latter when the shaft is moved laterally, and stopping means for themachine controlled by the reciprocating movement of the plunger.

8. In arope braiding or twisting machine, a member having a former guideto receive the rope forming strands from different sides of its axis, asupporting shaft for said member extending substantially in alinementwith the axis of said guide, means supporting said shaft to swinguniversally laterally of its length, a plunger mounted to reciprocatetoward and from an end of said shaft, said shaft and plunger hav ingopposed ends provided with reversely formed concavities, a ballinterposed between the opposed ends of said shaft and plunger and freelyrolling in said concavities when the shaftis swung laterally, meansyieldingly pressing said shaft and plunger relatively toward one anotherto hold them in engagement with said ball, and stopping means for themachine controlled by reciprocation of said plunger.

9. In a rope braiding or twisting machine, a member having a formerguide to receive the rope forming strands from different sides of itsaxis, a shaft connected thereto and extending substantially in alinementwith the axis of said ed in said casing to reciprocate substantially inq the direction of the length of said shaft and having a concavity inits end opposite to the con-,

cavity in said shaft, a ball movably contained between the concavitiesof said shaft and plunger, a spring supported by the casing and actingon the plunger to force it yieldingly toward said shaft, and stoppingmeans for the machine connected to said plunger and controlled by thereciprocation thereof.

WILLIAM C. WRIGHT.

